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BASQUE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT INTERVIEW TAPE INDEX
NAME: Yturri, Remedios “Reme”
TAPE MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS Tape 1 0-3:45 Reme’s parents, Anastacio Bideganeta and Anunciacion Alberdi, came to the United States shortly before their marriage in 1912. Their respective trips to the States proceeded without a hitch. Anunciacion, who was elated to come to America from Lekeitio and receive her citizenship, worked in a three-story hotel as a maid for some time after her arrival. She stayed in Letemendi’s boarding house. Anastacio came from a farming community near Arbazegui in the Basque Country. As soon as he arrived in Idaho he began herding sheep right away. Anastacio and Anunciacion met each other in Boise and were most likely married in the Good Shepherd Church, although it could have been in St. John’s Cathedral. 3:45-18 Anastacio and Anunciacion had four children: first Anastacia (“Anes”), then Reme, followed by John Manuel and lastly Isabel Lupe. The children spent their early childhood in the boarding house that Reme’s family owned and ran, and she recalls dishwashing and cooking as their primary chores. The second boarding house the family had—which was on 118 South 9th—was larger than the first and came to be known as the Buffalo Club. Her family always ate dinner together after serving the other boarders. Reme spent most of her time in the kitchen, and typical fare for any meal included red beans (garbanzos on Sundays), soup and some kind of meat. The meat, usually salt cod, sometimes came from Mr. Gabica’s fish market—which was right across the street from the boarding house. The boarders almost became family to the Jayo’s and were always treated as such. At this time the train depot was about a block and a half from the family’s boarding house. Right before dinner the boarders would come down to have a drink, even during Prohibition. This was never a problem because all the boarders treated the house as their home. Typical dinner fare was some kind of rice, meat, soup, always some fruit, and flan or rice pudding on Sundays. Anastacio’s job in the boarding house was to keep the books and play cards. In the evenings the dining hall of the house was always filled with music and dance, and the family had the first nickel piano. 18-20:30 Reme briefly discusses life before her family owned the Buffalo Club boarding house: they started out on the Echevarria ranch up at Dry Creek when Anastacio was a shepherd and then owned a small boarding house on Grove Street. Reme first attended school up at Dry Creek and later continued at Park School, Central School, and finally Boise High School. School was sometimes difficult for Reme and her siblings due to the language barrier and because there was a degree of discrimination. In those days, Basques were referred to as “black Basques” and there was quite a lot of resentment toward them from the “native” Idaho population. Reme remarks that there wasn’t much time to associate with other Basques because her family was always so busy. Her mother, however, did volunteer frequently at St. Alphonsus. She would help deliver babies, console incoming patients, etc. Anunciacion took control over the piercing of the newborn babies’ ears, because she was very fussy about how it was done. 20:30-23 Reme was always quite involved with the Friday night dances while she attended Boise High. Reme and her friend Jane Thomas were often driven to the dances by Jane’s father—in his patrol car—for he was the warden at the old state penitentiary. Overall, Reme had a very good time in high school. 23-27 Reme’s father would sometimes take she and her friends to Jordan Valley for the Saturday dances, and that is how her family became acquainted with the Eigurens. Later, some of the Eiguren children came to live with Reme’s family at their Grove house. Annie Eiguren (whose mother was from Lekeitio) was at that time enrolled in beauty school, so Reme and her sisters were treated to frequent shampoos and free haircuts. Reme’s occasional trips to Jordan Valley were responsible for her introduction to Tony (Anthony Sotero Yturri). 27-35 After graduating from Boise High Reme continued to help out at the family boarding house, although she also had other jobs. Her first job was as a dentist’s aid. Shortly after that job, Reme worked as a cashier and telephone operator at the Hotel Boise. She married Tony Yturri at age 28, after seeing him only a couple dozen times. By this time, Reme’s father had died and Anunciacion was running the boarding almost by herself—the number of immigrants from the Old Country was starting to decrease. 35-39 Anastacio took over the task of making sure that the children attended church and catechism regularly. Communion was usually held at St. John’s, although at the time St. John’s and Good Shepherd shared responsibilities. Maria Echevarria, Victoria Echevarria’s mother, would tailor the children’s clothing. Reme remembers having to take the streetcar to Maria’s State St. tailor shop, which at the time was way out in the country. 39-49 After her marriage, Reme left Boise for a time because Tony was in the service and had to move to Texas. Eventually, Tony had to go overseas to South America for a while working in counter espionage. When he returned, they moved to Ontario where Tony had to re-establish his law practice—usually serving the loyal Jordan Valley Basque community. Soon after their return, Reme began volunteering at a nursing home. Her duties to the church included the altar rights and washing the laundry. At that time, the only correspondence the Basques in the Boise area had with the Old Country was via letters, for inter-continental telephone communication was unheard of. Money was sent to families still in the Basque Country via people travelling back and forth so that it could be hand-delivered. Reme discusses at length the sequential immigration of some of her more distant family members. 49-55 Reme’s mother was insistent that her children should grow up within the American system and accepting the local culture. It is for that reason that she was so insistent on everyone receiving his citizenship. However, she also insisted that they keep true to their Basque cultural heritage. That is why Reme mourned for a year after Tony died and also why she was wearing black at the time of this interview—out of respect for Mother Yturri who had recently passed away. Reme describes Mother Yturri as a very respected person in the Boise area and as always being very happy. Reme attributes this happiness to Mother Yturri’s upbringing in Lekeitio—for the people in Lekeitio are the happiest in all of Spain! 55-60:30 Reme has gone back to the Basque Country several times over the year, and just loves the people and the countryside. She feels very much a part of the culture over there and felt very welcome whenever she was there. She spends some time to describe the countryside, and holds that it is some of the most beautiful in the world. The last time Reme was in the Basque Country was four to five years before the date of this interview. 60:30-63 The Delamar boarding house frequently entertained dances and music on Sundays and became quite famous in local Basque circles. For the New Year’s Eve dance, Basques would sing and dance, starting from the Owyhee Hotel, and serpentine all through the downtown area! That was the most entertaining part of the year. The Boise community loved it and would sometimes join in the fun. 63-66 Reflecting on other cultural communities in the Boise area, Reme recalls the Chinese district, which extended from Front St. to Grove St. Most of the Chinese gardens were in what is now Garden City, and they would sell their goods to the boarding houses on bicycles. Beyond that, however, the Basques and the Chinese did not really intermingle. 66-69 Some time is spent describing the goods that the Basque hotels would buy from various sources. Tape 2 0-6 Reme tells a story of how Mother Yturri and Basilio (sp.) came to this country. Their father arrived before them to herd sheep. He was to meet them on Christmas day, for that was when they were to arrive. On his way, however, he either froze to death or died of food poisoning. Either way, he died before he ever greeted them. This all occurred some time in the twenties. Helen Smith’s sister would eventually marry Basilio (sp.). Reme tells Patty a story—off the record—about Justa Yturri’s marriage. 6-12:45 Reme explains that Tony became a lawyer because he had always wanted to be. Even now, she explains, people speak of him tenderly because he was a good lawyer and a good man. He even ran for and served in the Oregon State Legislature. Reme describes how Tony was a real joker—making good-humored, relaxing jokes right there on the floor of the Senate! Tony’s position in the legislature afforded many opportunities to go to banquets and parties, but Reme really never enjoyed those kinds of social affairs. People even wanted Tony to run for governor, but his doctor advised him that the position’s responsibilities would be too straining on his heart, so Tony never ran. 12:45-21:30 Asked about the future of the Basque culture in this area, Reme says that we need to continue what we are trying to do: teach Basque children the language of the Old Country, instill in them the culture of their forefathers, and teach them the Catholic faith. She says that things are changing and that some Basque culture is being lost in the younger generations. At the time of this interview, two marriages in Reme’s family were under way and neither of them were to be in a Catholic church. Reme says that this would have broken her mother’s heart. She reflects a little on her mother’s temperament, calling her happy, strong, and proud. When asked about why it’s important to keep an eye on one’s heritage, and her response is that it is just important to know where one came from so they can look to where they are headed with sure footing.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES: Alberdi, Anunciacion “Anuci” Amais PLACES: Arbazegui |
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